The key to a free life Jesus used to use parables to teach the people and to speak about great truths. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the persecution of which he was a victim did not leave him unable to speak in an open way. So, parables become a great tool for Him to tell big truths. If I have to choose between all the repertory of parables that the Gospels bring to us, I definitely choose the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23–35).
There Jesus tells the story of a servant who, after getting a huge debt from his king and seeing that he would put him in jail with his family, started to implore for forgiveness. Then the king, moved by mercy, decided to forgive all his debt and leave him free with his family. But after he found one of his fellow servants who had a small debt with him, and even when this person started to implore him for forgiveness, instead of having mercy with him, the unmerciful servant abused him and demanded his fellow servant pay back everything.
When the king got the news from the other servants and got him before his presence, he called him, "Wedged servant,¡I cancelled that great debt that you got with me, and you couldn't forgive the small debt that your fellow servant got with you!" Then he sent him to prison to be tortured until he paid back all he owed. The reason this parable has a special significance for the lives of the people is because its principal purpose is to make us conscious of the significance of forgiving and being merciful. If we want to experiment with mercy and grace in our lives, we must practice this principle. Because it is the key to a free life.
The people who refuse to forgive get the result of their behavior: God takes away his merciful hands from them, and they are not able to receive forgiveness through the sacrifice of the song. They keep themselves in prison in a voluntary way. Just when they decide to open their hearts to mercy and forgiveness, they start to have a close relationship with the King of forgiveness and mercy—that's God. In that moment, God starts to work in their lives and reveal his purpose to them. We cannot forget that in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13, Jesus said, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." That’s why forgiveness is something that you cannot receive unless you are able to give it.
"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:47).
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